Raymond wins fifth state championship in eight years

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Saturday, the Raymond Rangers were playing for a gold ball for the eighth-straight season, facing the McComb Tigers in the 4A championship game.

The game was the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams, and the Rangers had won the previous three meetings.

Round four went similarly to the previous three, as the Rangers used a strong defensive presence to hold the Tigers to just 28 points, in a 53-28 victory.

Senior Mekhi Strong led the Rangers with 19 points and was named the MVP for the game. Seniors Keymaurius Lewis (18) and E.J. Paymon (17) also scored double-digit points. Paymon, a Mississippi State commit, also added 12 rebounds.

The win is the fifth for the Rangers in the last eight years.

“Raymond is a special place that a lot of people didn’t believe in seven years ago, that you could make this kind of presence,” head coach Tony Tadlock said. “All the credit goes to [the players], the ones that came before this group, and of course this group to continue it.”

After losing their first two games to start the season, the Rangers went 31-2 to finish it out, including not losing another game to an MHSAA opponent.

“These guys never wavered all year,” Tadlock said. “That’s what makes it special, having to go through the defeat last year in the championship game, having to get back here 365 days later, it’s tough because the bullseye is on our back every night. But, these guys work with pride every night and they were able to get it done today.”

After the game, Strong was particularly emotional about the win. Unlike his teammates, this year’s state championship win was Strong’s first. He moved back to Mississippi for his senior season, after spending the previous three years living in Texas.

“It was all full of emotions,” Strong said. “I feel like everybody gave up on me when I first got here. I feel like I had to rebuild from the ground up and I thank God for my brothers in that locker room for holding me down and telling me, ‘we’re going to get it for you.’ I love them boys to death. I made the biggest promise to myself and my family that I was going to come down here and get a gold ball. It was just a dream come true. The man above made it come true.”

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